Is there a country in the world where
politics and comedy coexist like it is in South Africa? Not long ago we witnessed
"pay back the money" demands in parliament. Over the course of last
week it has been "give us the tapes," outside the court. These are
two political demands of no real significance.
We want the
president to pay back part of the R250m which went into building his Nkandla
homestead, and then let him go live up his retirement in peaceful splendour. Yet
we have said very little about the continuing looting of the real wealth of the
country. Trillions of rands are siphoned on daily basis by Mr. and Ms. Foreign
Investor.
Granted, the EFF is demanding nationalisation of the mines. But this is not revolution. It is a cry for Oligarchy to hand over control of their interests to the politicians who, arguably, are their historical and institutional employees any way.
Granted, the EFF is demanding nationalisation of the mines. But this is not revolution. It is a cry for Oligarchy to hand over control of their interests to the politicians who, arguably, are their historical and institutional employees any way.
When those who stand
up to revolt against injustice meet the wrath of the State, we cry crocodile
tears, on media platforms and smaller social circles, and leave the matter to a
Commission of Inquiry, set up by the employee of Oligarchy. As expected, the Farlam
Commission is letting the real culprits off the hook. The Lonmin executives and
shareholders - are they not the people who preside over daily exploitation?
We giggle ourselves
silly, watching a side-show spectacle, as Adv Mpofu vents at a Deputy President
who owns minority share of Lonmin. As it is to be expected, those who take the
side of DP make hollow speeches and irresponsible threats at the podiums. Then
it is loud silence afterwards.
Once the dust has
settled, shareholder instructs executives who walk scot free to ramp up profits
and prevent the costly incident of labour strikes. Massive retrenchments
follow. Politicians make few noises, just to contain the narrative. But
everybody who is affected will certainly live with the consequences. At times
we protest, by stealing from and murdering one another, all in pursuit of survival.
Politicians call it a crime. They promise to stop it yet they do not have solutions.
Even they are busy avoiding abject poverty. So, they carry on appeasing
Oligarchy - a crime of their own. They apply gloss on the norm; they call it
crafting legislation. The elite continue to rake in super profits. It’s a
vicious cycle.
The leaders who must’ve descended to Marikana to demand real answers from the real culprits, and to prevent a massacre, were missing in action. Some of them have denied culpability to the massacre, at the very Commission set up by their Boss to uncover the truth, despite the fact that they were in charge of state police machinery which pulled the trigger. ‘We are all responsible for what happened in Marikana,’ says one of them. And nobody is asking the question: Who is “we”? Not all of us own Lonmin shares.
Today we are reading that the same leaders have requested a meeting with Mfundi Vundla. He is allegedly exploiting a cast of few actors, by paying them an average of R50 000 per month, to keep the daily lullabye called soapie rolling for the entertainment of the wretched masses. The cast are not his employees, yet a labour federation is demanding explanation from him. The leader of a federation is calling for a boycott of the soapie, because the matter must be resolved, so that the lullaby can go back on the screen. Are we ever going to boycott exploitative mining companies?
Somebody, please compare the Generations cast to thousands of miners who were at first ignored by the “leaders”, then later mowed down by the state police for wanting R12 500. The soap stars are not employees, in a sense, but independent freelancers. The essence of their work is steeped in the culture of earning in order to purchase the bling, amongst other things, from Mr. and Ms. Investor, in order to flaunt it, for the masses to keep “dreaming”, instead of demanding justice. Generations is hardly a contributor of 18% of GDP, which is what mining sector is contributing. But hey, Mfundi Vundla is not Ian Farmer (former CEO of Lonmin); so we will take him on! We are bullying a small boy here. What about taking on the big boys?
If this is not an obvious example of how people are being distracted from demanding humanity, then there can be no better examples.
The leaders who must’ve descended to Marikana to demand real answers from the real culprits, and to prevent a massacre, were missing in action. Some of them have denied culpability to the massacre, at the very Commission set up by their Boss to uncover the truth, despite the fact that they were in charge of state police machinery which pulled the trigger. ‘We are all responsible for what happened in Marikana,’ says one of them. And nobody is asking the question: Who is “we”? Not all of us own Lonmin shares.
Today we are reading that the same leaders have requested a meeting with Mfundi Vundla. He is allegedly exploiting a cast of few actors, by paying them an average of R50 000 per month, to keep the daily lullabye called soapie rolling for the entertainment of the wretched masses. The cast are not his employees, yet a labour federation is demanding explanation from him. The leader of a federation is calling for a boycott of the soapie, because the matter must be resolved, so that the lullaby can go back on the screen. Are we ever going to boycott exploitative mining companies?
Somebody, please compare the Generations cast to thousands of miners who were at first ignored by the “leaders”, then later mowed down by the state police for wanting R12 500. The soap stars are not employees, in a sense, but independent freelancers. The essence of their work is steeped in the culture of earning in order to purchase the bling, amongst other things, from Mr. and Ms. Investor, in order to flaunt it, for the masses to keep “dreaming”, instead of demanding justice. Generations is hardly a contributor of 18% of GDP, which is what mining sector is contributing. But hey, Mfundi Vundla is not Ian Farmer (former CEO of Lonmin); so we will take him on! We are bullying a small boy here. What about taking on the big boys?
If this is not an obvious example of how people are being distracted from demanding humanity, then there can be no better examples.
The Generations cast
have a right to demand their dues. And so do the miners who risk their lives
working deep in the belly of earth, bringing up precious minerals to enrich a
few greedy elite, and their chosen gate-keeping politicians. To think that most
miners live in squalor, and on poor diet; that they barely afford good
education for their children, when the mining licenses granted by government
place social responsibility on the investors to create decent livelihoods for
the miners and their surrounding communities… It is real shame!
The attention
politicians are giving to Generations, in the aftermath of their absence in the
platinum mining sector showdown, goes a long to reveal what they think the
priorities of running a country are.
After the Democratic Alliance has obtained convenient evidence to force the president to face charges, and to “probably” go to jail, what will the country gain? I will not be surprised if what is in the spy tapes is nothing but inaudible conversation between people about nothing of real earthly significance. The distraction of people who are demanding real justice is in full swing.
Perhaps nailing the
president will give the nation hope. But a clean president is not the solution
to the man-made human suffering we are confronted with. This humungous system
of hoarding resources and amassing wealth is exploitative and thus produces
corruptible servants of itself with swift efficiency. A president will go,
another one will come. The system maintains itself in this way.
As long as you have Mr. and Ms. Foreign Investor looting, and using greedy politicians to keep the attention away from the real crime, grand opulence and heart-breaking poverty will keep people divided forever.
As long as you have Mr. and Ms. Foreign Investor looting, and using greedy politicians to keep the attention away from the real crime, grand opulence and heart-breaking poverty will keep people divided forever.
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